There are three great sources of hope for the Conservatives in the 2015 General Election, and their names are Ed Miliband, the Scottish National Party and the Greens. The first is a liability to his party, and so hamstrung that he continues to prevent Labour developing any strategy at all. The second threatens to deprive the Opposition of dozens of seats in Scotland. The third offers the hope that disaffected Lib Dems may have an alternative to voting Labour, reducing the swing generated by left-wing unhappiness with the Coalition.

Between them, a growing number of MPs hope, they may be enough to prevent the country falling victim to Labour’s plan for an economic disaster that would rival that which Hollande is subjecting France to.

It’s a depressing and uninspiring form of politics in which both main parties’ best chance of success is the failure of their opponent at the hands of their respective ideological outliers. The cliche that ‘parties don’t win elections, they only lose them’ is not only not true, it’s a recipe for Government by default – resulting in paralysis due to lack of a mandate and even more disillusionment among the electorate.

New, small parties are a healthy thing for democracy – as a Conservative I believe that choice and competition are positive in all aspects of life. But the impact is harmful to all involved if their only role is to deny one side or the other victory. The way to get the most out of the situation is for the Tories – and Labour – to respond to the new pressures on their vote as a successful company would respond to a new, nimble competitor: by innovating, improving their service and making a stronger pitch to stay with them. Anything less is a capitulation.